Development of Ahmedabad airport in PPP mode proposed

New Delhi, 9 November 2014

The government of India is going ahead with the privatization of only two airports – Ahmedabad and Jaipur – instead of the six originally planned. The airports in Jaipur and Ahmedabad will be awarded on public-private partnership. While the Kolkata and Chennai airports will be operated on management contracts awarded to private parties, the privatization of Guwahati and Lucknow airports has been put on hold.

The draft of Civil Aviation Policy says: During the last decade, 4 major airports have been successfully developed in the PPP mode. These airports are of international
standards and have significantly contributed to the growth of civil aviation as well as regional economic growth. Government’s objective is to develop more airports in the PPP mode, with appropriate modifications to ensure competitiveness in costs. In the first phase, the development of the airports in Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur will be taken up.

It further says: Our endeavor will be to provide the best possible conveniences to passengers. To achieve this objective, electronic check-in facilities
of international standards and automated baggage handling facilities will be provided. In the first phase, the upgradation of facilities will be in the 18 major airports that account for 86% of the traffic. The remaining airports will also be covered subsequently. The six metropolitan airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad would be developed as major international hubs and would in future be the main access points for international travel to and from India. We would in future follow a “hub-and-spoke” model, which would also facilitate the development of regional networks and air connectivity as a whole.
The existing bilateral agreements with foreign airlines will be reviewed on an equal opportunity basis. Future bilateral agreements will be designed in such a way as to facilitate the hub-and-spoke model.